China - Day trip to Tianjin

Tianjin - Dec 2014

We took a day trip to Tianjin. To be honest, I do not have not much impression of Tianjin before the trip and now after the trip, I would have prefer Xi An instead. 

The tour guide took us to the biggest food mall in China that was selected as one of the “Top ten Tianjin attractions” in 1989 - Tianjin Nanshi Food Mall.

Basically, we were given 30-45 minutes to explore the three storey food mall which over 100 food shops and restaurants offering local delicacies. We were also told to buy from a few particular shops which were deemed more trustworthy. I chose to believe that tour guide is in collaboration with the mentioned shops.  

One of the unique snacks in Tianjin - Fried dough twist 麻花. It is sweet-smelling and crispy. Do you know this snack cannot go bad even after being stored for several months. 

The shifu was very skillful to draw a tank for this little boy.

Ear hole fried rice cake 耳朵眼炸糕

wheat meat 面筋. It looks very weird...

Honey soft cake 蜂密软糖

Next, we headed to Tianjin Ancient Culture Street 古文化街.

The street is famous for calligraphy and painting brushes of Four Treasures, cultural antiques, double-sided embroidery, jade carvings and art ceramics. It is the street where you can get all the chinese pottery souvenirs.

Terribly underdressed for a cold weather.

We were rushing for train back to Beijing so we literary walked past the 5th avenue and Italian town in very fast pace. I am the sort of people who like to stop, take pictures and enjoy the scenery. Oh well, this is the price you have to pay if you join a tour.

It is ironic that when I googled about Tianjin, it came out "With its cool sea breeze and fresh sea air you will definitely feel refreshed". But I can only remember haze, haze and haze.

I consider Dark Tourism, in a comparative persective

Tourists visit slave cabins at Boone Hall plantation, near Charleston

Visitors walk past barracks at Auschwitz, which house exhibits

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

I've been in Charleston, SC, for the past four months, teaching this semester as the Distinguished Visiting Chair in Jewish Studies at the College of Charleston.

During my stay, I've begun to consider parallels -- and dissonances -- between the way Jewish heritage and history, including the Holocaust, are presented in Eastern Europe and the way African American (including slave) history and heritage are presented in the Charleston area.

Here's a brief essay I wrote, for the web site of the Drayton Hall plantation, exploring some of the issues.

- - - -

More than 20 years ago I wrote a book called Upon the Doorposts of Thy House: Jewish Life in East-Central Europe, Yesterday and Today. The title referred to the mezuzah—the encased prayer scroll Jews place on their doorposts, indicating a house as the home of a Jew.

In post-Holocaust Europe you could often find the grooves or scars where mezuzahs had been removed or painted over during or after the Shoah—thus forming symbolic mezuzahs that indicated a house where Jews once lived. In my book, I extrapolated further, suggesting that the surviving physical relics of pre-war Jewish life—synagogue buildings, Jewish cemeteries, even if abandoned, in ruined condition or transformed for other use, also served as symbolic mezuzahs to mark towns, villages, cities, and even countries where Jews once lived and do not live now.

My intent was to show how buildings and other physical sites can be talismans and touchstones, opening the way into memory and history.

George McDaniel made this same idea explicit in his introduction to the panel of Drayton Hall descendants. “History did not happen to someone, somewhere else, but to you,” he said. “You grow up a product of history. Preserving buildings means also preserving the story behind the buildings, making a connection with people. Why is a place important? How do you feel connected?”

From the Jewish perspective, visiting Jewish historical sites in post-Holocaust, post-Communist Europe can be a very positive experience, emphasizing Jewish life, history and culture; but the experience also falls under what is now known as Dark Tourism—tourism to sites of what we can call “negative” history, “negative” experience: death, destruction, war.

Sites of slavery also fall under Dark Tourism, though this aspect of a historic site (such as a plantation or genteel antebellum home) often becomes masked, elided, or simply footnoted in the presentation of beautiful buildings and gardens for tourist consumption.

Much of this boils down to “who controls the narrative”—and to whom is the narrative directed: issues that we have been dealing with in the class I have been teaching, “Memory, Heritage, Renewal.” Although the main focus of our class is Jewish heritage and memory and their role and representation in Europe, we have been able to draw parallels with the way that African American heritage, history, and culture are presented here in Charleston and the Lowcountry.

I was delighted that students from my class were in attendance at the panel presentation featuring the descendants of Drayton Hall, as the discussion clearly demonstrated the parallels we have been dealing with, touching on issues such as the point of view of interpretation and interpreters; messages and signage; how the same place can have different symbolic meanings and generate different memories for different people.

I found particularly compelling a part of the film about Drayton Hall’s African American descendants that parallels the post-Holocaust Jewish experience in Europe. People were filmed sitting in the African American cemetery at Drayton Hall, speaking about how many of the deceased buried there had no markers for their graves, no one to talk about their history. In Eastern Europe, when I visit an abandoned Jewish cemetery, I often ponder the fact that most of the thousands and thousands of people buried in these places are also forgotten, with no descendants to tend their graves or even remember who they were.

Drayton is not alone in trying to present a more inclusive past in the plantation context. Boone Hall has installed an extensive presentation on slavery and African American history centered on the nine preserved slave cabins there. Magnolia Gardens features special programs to bring to life its recently renovated row of cabins. And Middleton Place, which I have not yet visited, presents a permanent exhibit titled “Beyond the Fields” in a two-family tenant residence called Eliza’s House, in memory of Eliza Leach, a South Carolina African American born in 1891, and the last person to live in the building. The much less elaborate Hampton Plantation also incorporates the site’s slave history in well researched text panels, both in the Big House and along the path leading to it.

After the Drayton Hall panel, I was excited to visit McLeod Plantation with Mary Battle, public historian at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, and her class. McLeod, which served as local headquarters of the Freedman’s Bureau following the Civil War, has the potential to interpret not only slave life but the postwar experience of the newly freed men and women. McLeod’s signage uses a phrase that could be the site’s “slogan”—describing it as a place of both “tragedy and transcendence.” I found it interesting that this formulation echoes what we sometimes call sites of Jewish heritage in Europe—“sites of tragedy and sites of triumph.”

Read article on the web site

Tai Zhi Wei Formosa Noodle House 台之味台湾麵馆 at Taman Sutera Utama, Skudai - Johor Bahru.

This Tai Zhi Wei Formosa Noodle House 台之味台湾麵馆 (N1.51609 E103.67048) is located at the corner shop lot unit of Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3, Taman Sutera Utama, Skudai - Johor Bahru. The corner lot is the 'foot reflexology centre' and this cafe is just situated beside it. The area is well ventilated but it can be warm sometimes during the hot humid weather of Malaysia.

Tai Zhi Wei Formosa Noodle House 台之味台湾麵馆

The well ventilated dining area of the cafe

The owner of the cafe was friendly and he introduced some of their authentic Taiwanese dishes for us...

*  Taiwanese scallion pancake - 蔥油饼
*  Braised pork rice - 控肉饭 (recommended)
*  Taiwanese beef noodle - 台湾红烧牛肉麵
*  Chicken chop rice - 鸡扒饭
*  Taiwanese minced pork homemade noodles - 卤肉手工麵 (recommended)
*  Pot sticker - 锅贴 (recommended)
*  Rainbow dumplings - 七彩水饺 (recommended)

Really appreciated for the recommendation, we like some of the dishes very much! But some were mediocre...

The Taiwanese scallion pancake - 蔥油饼 was served slightly dry and the scallion was too little, but the sauce was nice.

Taiwanese scallion pancake - 蔥油饼

The braised pork rice 控肉饭 was one of our favorite! The pork were braised to perfection! It was tender, succulent and tasty! I love it!
Must try if you are pork lover!

Braised pork rice - 控肉饭

The beef noodle 台湾红烧牛肉麵 was taste average, but the homemade noodle was nice and springy. Strongly recommended on the noodle.

Taiwanese beef noodle - 台湾红烧牛肉麵

The chicken chop rice 鸡扒饭 served with vegetables. If the chicken chop serve in more moist then it will be perfect...

Chicken chop rice - 鸡扒饭

The taste of the minced pork homemade noodle 卤肉手工麵 was 'authentic' and delicious! It served the similar taste that I had in Taipei, oh...this noodle really made me missed my days in Taipei...
Recommended!

Taiwanese minced pork homemade noodles - 卤肉手工麵

The pot sticker - 锅贴 (or Chinese pan fried dumplings) was served in juicy and tasty! It was not too dried, we all like it! Another recommended!

Pot sticker - 锅贴

Rainbow dumplings 七彩水饺 was Perfect! Each of dumpling skin was not artificial colouring but it was from the natural resources...natural, seaweed, yam, pandan and others. The fillings were fragrant and fresh, some with minced pork and some with chives or seasonal vegetables.
Each of them had different taste where you can enjoy the delicious dumplings one-by-one slowly...
Recommended and must try!
 

Rainbow dumplings 七彩水饺

Overall, the foods were nice and tasty. Some of them need some adjustment to suit the public taste, or it just my personal opinions. But the bottom line is...the price is very reasonable! You may say, it's cheap and good! Go and try it out yourself with all these affordable Taiwanese Cuisines at Tai Zhi Wei 台之味, Taman Sutera Utama.

Beside the foods, I would like to highlight the lemon juice. The lemon they use was not the local normal lemon, the taste was super refreshing! It's a good way to cool you down under the hot weather.

Tai Zhi Wei Formosa Noodle House 台之味台湾麵馆

134, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3,

Taman Sutera Utama,

Skudai, Johor Bahru.

Tel : +6016-2956676

Business hour : 11am - 10pm (daily)

Facebook : http://goo.gl/PKDtgi

GPS Coordinates : N1.51609 E103.67048

Location map of Tai Zhi Wei Formosa Noodle House 台之味台湾麵馆 at Taman Sutera Utama, Skudai - Johor Bahru.

China : Beijing - Great Wall of China + Nanshan ski resort

Beijing - December 2014

Bf and I were very psyched with today's itinerary and were looking forward since day 1 we booked the tour package! The most highlight of the trip: Great Wall of China and Nanshan ski resort!

That day was the most fun and most frustrating day of the trip. 

Great Wall of China 万里长城

My first one of the eight wonders in the world! Let's get started with a little history of how it came about.

The Great Wall of China was built as early as 7th century BC (I don't even know that's how long ago) and further constructed in 220–206 BC by Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor of China who is very infamous about him burning all the books.

The Great Wall was built mainly to protect the Chinese empire from northern invaders and the total length was estimated around 8,850km. I came across one article mentioning one guy took around 9 months to complete.

Initally, I thought I was quite well prepared - brought mask, sunglasses, gloves and three layers. I was wrong. I was freezing to death even in indoor. 

I was very furious when I heard there was only 45 minutes free and easy time for us to explore the Great Wall and report back to the restaurant for lunch. Come on, I spent so long bus journey from town to outskirt just to see this Great Wall and only going to give me less than an hour to explore and take pictures? This is damn ridiculous. 

Perhaps this doesn't earn him any commission. Two hours at silk factory -.-" We practically wasting our precious travelling time. I still remember very vividly that he was so thick skin that he asked one of my tour mate to help support the sales. Not one time but several times. I am not going to expose his nickname but it is a very small size of horse.

million dollars view

During the olden days, they did not have any construction machinery. They built it using their bare hands with sweats and blood. People said that underneath the Great Wall hid countless of corpses who either died of over exhausted or lack of proper nutrition.

A must have "I am here" picture.

Anyway, December is a quiet season as the weather is too cold for people to go anywhere. Imagine this place packing with people during peak season.

My black face when we were rushing down to the restaurant. Of course, we were late. Obviously, 45 minutes was not enough at all.

See you again, Great Wall of China.

We had to say good bye to Great Wall and rushed off to our next destination - Nanshan ski resort where we expected to reach in an hour~ 

This is my closest chance to see and touch snow.

We reached there around 3pm and the mountains back view with gentle sun was exceptional beautiful as if like a painting.

It was quite slippery when I stepped on the hardened snow for the first time.

I was thinking if we need to hire an instructor as the time given us was only 2 hour. We ended up hiring an instructor as skiing can be very dangerous if you do not know how to brake or get up when you fall down. The female instructor was very passionate telling us what equipment to take, where to pay the fee and even offered to help me to take my ski board.

After a few attempts of learning how to move with ski board and to brake on a slightly descended ground level, the instructor led us to the higher hill. 

The conveyor belt for the beginners lol

Ski tow is for the more pro people. 

Bf went first because I was scared. 

The instructor first directed him to hold his ski pole horizontally to strike a balance then position both his legs facing inwards making a V shape as braking mechanism so not to increase his speed while going down the hill. The technique is to bend his legs and lean backwards like sitting down - this is to prevent to fall with face down. Most importantly is to use the same strength on both legs so you will go straight instead of going in zigzag. If you wish to increase your speed, position your ski board parallel to each other. 

I have to admit that bf was doing better than me as I was not able to strike a balance strength on my legs. I have better strength control on my left legs which is damn weird as right leg should be my power leg. If you see the above picture, my V shape was not very nicely positioned. The tip of my ski board kept overlapped each other.

We were totally exhausted after a few attempts of going downhills. We have to control legs strength while skiing downhills and use arm strength on ski pole to push ourselves forwards on a flat ground.

It was near 5.30pm where they were about to close, the female instructor kept rushing us to return their equipment. She kept pushing us to walk faster but obviously we could not as it was very slippery to walk on the snow and the ski board was heavy. She could not take our slowness and decided to help me with the ski board. Her attitude changed totally before and after..

Course fee: ~SGD 50 for 2 hours.